Parking device



Oct; 13, 1931. R. W. BRANSON 1,327,457

PARKING DEVICE Filed June 13. 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS BEAN-SON BY q ATTORNEY Oct. 13, 1931- R. w. BRANSON 1, 7

' PARKIN DEVICE Filed June 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS R.W BRANGOJV BY Wm ATTORNEY R. W. BRANSON PARKING DEVICE Oct. 13, 1931.

Filed June 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY i I Patented ()ct. 13,1931 I I nussnrnwrnsoixr BR Application fil ed June 13,

This invention relates to' improvementsin automobiles and. likegvehicles, a' particular purpose beingto improve the parking device by which the automobile maybe ma'nmuvred in cramped quarters,-.andg.itconsists ofthebe let down and shifted for the purpose. of

V 1 eral positions of. the front: auxiliary wheels;

Figure 7- is a planzvlew of .thechas-sis, illustratingthe location 'ofj'the' -iliary wheels andm Figure11sIa'd1agrammat1c view showing I ing operation laterde'scrib'ed-in detail; '3

.- FigureBis a vertical" section of theifront' frame, being so taken' asto reveal one of-the auxiliary Wheel shafts? ew illustrating sev,

liftingthe front Wheels ofg'the'; 1 automobile from the'ground. i 5 I I Anothersobj ect. of the invention is .toprovide auxiliary wheelslforthe front axle of the automobile, arrangedito make connection with 'thedraglink when let downand sh fted tosupport the front wheels of-the automobile from the ground, thus to.permitlimitedturning of I the. front 'wheel "steering knuckles simultaneously ;withthe shafts of the aux aketa-betterjjob of a park'- ingop'eration. I r I Other objects and advantages willappear in the following specificatiomxreference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in

the improved auxiliary wheels in use for the purpose of supporting the front automobile wheels above the ground; i I

: .FigureQ is a'diagrami-llustratinga park I Figure 4 is. .adetail v 1 'Figure 5 is a perspectiveiview of lawportionofthe front axle, the front frame being shown in (the-dropped position;

Figure 6 is a detail perspectlve view of the I movable hinge leaf; Y

front auxliarywheelsg, I

-Figure 8 1s a View onv showing the? front" frame and auxiliary; I wheels in that shiftediposition wherein the frontawheelsfare raised from the ground:v -gdirection when ini one shifted position, 1

.ble to a large majority of motorists. I

t ust rod 9-;

of the I'front part he order of I I H p surzfa-ceiof the fixed leaf 11 (Fig. 8)" to limit *thGIiOQkiIlg movement of the framelOin one 1929. seam; $70,637:: p I

ivsomfor xA vslis crri lurssou iug 'fsssienon, on ons-HA F 'ro U'QVf- Q E- H TZLP I F BOE B Q regulation of traffic, one is inclined: toward 5 the gconclusi on that thesolution rests with the close parking of'motor vehicles along curbs and other spaces allotted to the purpose, as much as with any other factor. b

and far between, and certainly are not accessi- Those of theflatter {who must take their au omob e in z sy Sec on of e c ty ;m ust be cont'ent with such parking spaces as 1 i .Lthe. curb may afford, and it requires no keen ob erv r t ss s tha Such; p e a e at rrem wn dur nglthe great rp o themrk- Barking-spaces, such' as are'afforded byrela tively largeiopen lotsi and'the like, are few ing day; 'Nor'does it require a? keen observer to see that much-valuable spaceis wasted by theinj udicious parking of cars; L I

aboutjmor'e'bya lack of skill in parking than byadispositijonto takemore than is coming T Q0 the average, motorist, the; herein disc l o'seol invention; has been devised to enable the former to get intoa space thatislittlemore thanlargee11,ough to accommodate his car.

Reference is made to thedrawings "Those parts, that are" familiar in the conventional automobile and wit-li which the invention is QQnQQrDQdI PmPris theifol wi g t e Ch rsisilj, itqllt i l'efl, ;front"wheels 3, steering knuckle vEdftg link ,7, steering wheel 8, and

he; leaves zare-c'onnectedby a hinge pin The movableleaf 12 has one or more ,lugsl ig. 6)"that will engage the adjacent =Many motorists, out ofja des re to leave v I v l A front frame zgenerally designated 10 comprises the leavesll and 12 of a hinge, fthef former o f --which. is permanently secured ,in 'anTyappropriate manner to ithe'front axle I which time the frontwheels 3 areraised from the ground.

Attached to the movable leaf 12 are tubular casings 15 in which the shafts 16 of a set of front auxiliary wheels 17 are'suitably jour} naled. Ball thrust bearingslS, such as seen in Figure 3, may be employed. 1

The lower ends of the-shafts have forks 19 in which the wheels have hearing. A collar 20, orother suitable devices, retain each shaft in position. The upper exposed end of each shaft has a crank 21.

The cranks are connected by a bar 22. The connection is pivotal so that endwise motion imparted to the bar willresult in simultaneous turning movement of the shafts 16. an arm 23 with a slot 24: is attached to the connecting bar 22 and extends in'the rearward direction. A clamp 25, secured to the drag link 7 has an upstanding pin 26. The pin enters the slot when the frame 10 "is shifted to the upright position in Figure 8 after having been dropped to the ground as in Figure 4 and the automobile has been backed slightly;

It is then that the'operator may turn the steering wheel 8 and turn the auxiliary wheel shafts 16 simultaneously with the front wheel knuckles 6. The turning will be slight, but enough to enable manoeuvring of the automobile into restricted spaces according to the principle pictured in Figure v2 and described more'in detail later. a

A cable 27, or its equivalent, permits dropping the frame 10 and; pullingit up again. @ne end of the cable is attached to an eye 28 on one of the casings 15. "The other end ofthe cable connects with'a stalf' 29 that is operable through'the dash board. The staff has a handle 30. A slight knuckle 31' is formed where the staff joins the'cable, the position of the former being suchthat the raised position of the frame'lO (dotted lines Figure 4) will correspond with a position of the knuckle just in front of the dashboard, the dropping of the staff 29 (using the knuckle as a hinge) producingan entirely adequate hold for the frame in the position A 'mentioned. r

*The operation is readily understood.

-Under ordinary circumstances; as when the automobile is running along, the front frame 10 will be held elevated under the chassis '1.

The dotted lines in Figure l illustrate the position. Assume that it is desired to manceuvre the automobile into anarrow space as in Figure 2. The preliminary'backlng of the vehicle will bring it approximately to the position shown.

with respect to the chassis. Thatang-le must bedetermined, for it is only at one position away with the vehicle.

That act will. leave the front wheels3 in a position at a decided angle sible with the ordinary facilities, the operator drops the front frame to the full line position shown in Figure 4. He has to back the vehicle but slightly (several inches) to br ng the fra e 10., to, he upr ht P s ti n in Figure TheYlugs ll limit the rocking movementof the frame. The action raises 1-. the front wheels 3 from the ground. The

auxiliary wheels 17 generally stand at right angles to; the vehicle, so that it would now be possible for the operator. to get out and push the'front end. of. the vehicle in toward the curb, the rear wheels 5 acting as a pivot. But it is. here that the steering wheel 8 performs a function .The droppingof the frame 10. and the erection thereof by the slight "backing of. the vehicle, bring the pin 2 6 of the drag link 7 and the slotted arm 23 o'f the connecting bar 22into engagement so that turning of the steering wheel. 8.makes it possible to simultaneously turn the steering-knuckles '6 of the front wheels 3 and the auxiliary wheels 17f Turning of the auxiliary wheels 17 into the dotted lin'e positions in Figure 2 will enable the movenient of. the front 'end ofjthe vehicle toward the curb more sharply and directly. than would be possible were the mere swingingoff the front end on the arc the'car, sov that, by the time the. vehicle has been manmuvred to the curb the front wheels will occupy a desirable position in substantial parallelism with the rear wheels, and will not jut. out'to act as obstructions topassing traflic. Y I r 7 It is possible that. the auxiliary wheelsmay render the automobile burglar proof. Without having. access to. the controls on theinside of the CZLI'I'UWOLIlCl notbe so easy to displace the front frame forthev purpose of making Respecting the front axle, the operator will be saved the annoyance of placing a jack under the axle and facing-the danger'of ruining hist'clothes' by having his automobile equipped with the foregoing device.

While the construction and'arrangement is that of an improved parking device, obviouslymodifications and changes-may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the inventio-n or the scope of the claims.

I1cl'aim:'' 1. Incombination with an axle and adrag link, a' frame hinged to the axleformovement toward the ground, a'shaft journaled Wheels of an axle at one-end of a vehicle, a frame hinged to the axle transversely of the on the frame, a wheel to touch the and cause the lifting of the axle through the frame and its hinge connection when moving the axle in one direction, said wheel'having hearing at one end of the shaft to roll in the direction of thelength of the axle, and means on the other end of thefshaft to couple the shaft with the drag linkenabling turning of the shaft hencesteering of the wheel.

2. In combination with a drag link and the to steerthe wheels ofsaid cvehicle, an auxiliary parking wheel" tojroll crosswise of'the vehicle, and carrying means for the parking wheel being'movable to simultaneously ack up the vehicle and make a steering connection with the steering device upon linearly moving the vehicle. a

' nedat' J efierson, inthe county of Cole S1 and state of Missouri, this 17th day of May A.D. 1929. Y

' [RUSSELL wmson BBANSON.

vehicle for movement toward the ground, a I I shaft journaled on the frame, a wheel to.

touch the ground and act; with the-frame. through the hinge to lift-the axle and said end a of the vehiclewhen rolling the'latterin one.

" direction, said wheelhaving hearing at one end of the shaft to roll in the direction of the length'of the axle,- and complementary coupling means on'theother end of the shaft and the drag link engaging when the vehicle has rollin the direction ofthe length-of the axle,

. suspending means for the frameby which the frame can be lowered until the wheel touches the ground, causing a. lifting action on the axle and vehicle when rolling the latter in one direction, and complementary coupling'means on the otherend of the shaft and on the drag link engaging when the axle v is lifted. I

of a wheeled vehicle, a frame mounted on part of the vehicle for movement toward the ground, a wheel totouch the ground and act with the frame to lift the "vehicle when roll- 4. In combination with the steering gear ing the vehicle on its wheels in one-direction,

wheel-carrying means swivelled on the frame, and means to couple said carrying means with the steering gear during-lifting of the vehicle.-

5. In combination, with the steering gear of a wheeled vehicle, a framemountedon one end of the vehicle for movement down and" up in respect to the vehicle and ground,

means connected with the frame and extending to the instrument boardof the vehicle 7 for causing the lowering and raising of the frame from the instrument board,a wheel to touch the ground and act with the frame to V lift the vehicle when rolling thevehicle on its wheels in one direction,and means swivelly carrying the wheel on the frame, being 7 automatically coupled with thesteering gear during lowering of the frame-for subsequent steering ofsaid wheels. when therespective end of the vehicle is lifted'from the ground.

In a wheeled vehicle, a steeringdevice no i f 

